Federal Government Rejects Funding To Save New York's Goethals Bridge

Federal budget cuts, brought on by Republican pressure to slash
spending, have ended efforts to replace the Goethals Bridge
connecting New Jersey to Staten Island.

The New York Post reports the $500 million in federal loan
guarantees applied for by the Port Authority last year are not in
the 2012 federal budget.

The funds were necessary for getting the $1.5 billion project
underway and replacing the 83-year old bridge currently in
Goethals
Bridgewikipedia
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place.

If the loan guarantees are not placed in the budget, the 2017
anticipated completion date will likely be missed and the 71,200
daily drivers who use the 7,109-foot span, which links Staten
Island and Elizabeth, NJ, will suffer backups and narrow lanes
for years longer.

"The budget getting squeezed makes projects like this hard to
justify," a source said.The Goethals, which
opened in 1928, has less than 10 years left in its
lifespan. While its four narrow eastbound and westbound
lanes (two in each direction) and lack of a shoulder fail to meet
today's highway standards, the nearly decade of use left in the
span makes it a non-emergency situation.

Port Authority executives are making a new bid for financing
under the Transportation Infrastructure and Innovation Act.